Structural and electrical characterization of BC2N thin films

We have characterized a BC2N compound, one of the new layered BCN compounds. The structural and electrical properties of BC2N thin films, prepared by chemical vapor deposition, have been examined. Microscopic bonding was investigated by chemical shifts in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Binding energies of is electrons for B, C and N suggested that an atomic-level hybrid of the three elements was synthesized, implying that a separation of graphite and hexagonal BN (h-BN) had not occurred in the films. Transport properties were also investigated by means of temperature dependences of the resistivity and Hall coefficients, and the films were found to be p-type semiconductors.